Columbia-Highroad's winningest rider of 2008, Ina-Yoko Teutenberg took her first 2009 victory on Saturday, winning the Merco Credit Union Criterium.
Teutenberg won out of a bunch sprint beating US National Champion Brooke Miller and Lauren Tamayo of Tibco.
"It was an aggressive race," said Teutenberg. "Emilia [Fahlin] and Kim [Anderson] did a great job attacking during the race and setting it up at the end for a bunch sprint. We wanted to make the race as aggressive as possible and we were hoping that one of the breaks would work. But we were happy with the way it ended."
"I've always liked this weeked of racing," she added. "It's been a while since I've been able to race here, so it's good to be back."
The weekend's racing will conclude with a 70 mile road race around the outskirts of Merced, a race that Fahlin won last year.